In the past six months or so, there have been circumstances in the lives of people around me and in my community of faith that have compelled me to deep, urgent praying. Although prayer is a regular part of my life, there are times when the Spirit leads me into what scriptures calls 'fervent prayer'. The kind that drives you to your knees, that is accompanied by tears and a wrung out heart. It's coming before my Father in desperation. I need to hear from Him; I need to be able to trust Him for something big. I believe this is when God is calling me back to Him, to show me how dependent I am on His grace and goodness.
This is when I look for promises in Scripture that I can hold up, reminding the Father of His faithfulness. It's when I look at history - both further back and recent, in biblical times and in my own life - to remind Him of what He's already done. It's when I look at His will for this world, and pray accordingly. Doing this resets my perspective and helps me pray in step with the Spirit. I am reminded that through Christ, any and every situation can be redeemed. And I pray that back to Him.
The one thing that stood out for me in these last months is the importance of praying for God's glory to be revealed in every request I make (it might even change/omit certain requests). Creation, including humankind, exist for His glory. And so, praying for answers that will reveal His character, His greatness, is what changes my heart but also gives me His ear.
With this in mind, I tested it on the Lord's prayer:
Our Father, in heaven, hallowed be your name,
to display Your glory
Your kingdom come,
to display Your glory
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,
to display Your glory
Give us today our daily bread,
to display Your glory
And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors
to display Your glory
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil
to display Your glory.
When we truly desire God's glory first of all, everything changes. Our agenda becomes aligned with the kingdom. Is this easy? Is it automatic? Of course not. There is still the struggle with what I want and how I want my petitions answered. But as I pray this way, I slowly grow into a deeper peace and trust.
